Crossing fingers I will win a free spot at Jen Louden's #Writers Retreat http://ht.ly/4Pwka

Recent events are evidence that the Universe is aligning to guide me along the next step on my journey.

--Last weekend, I went on an overnight writing retreat with five other newly acquainted writers, three other women and two men, to a summer house on an island in Lake Erie. In the course of the weekend, I was told how much admired I was among the group because I don't let my physical disabilities deter me from living life with gusto. But then the speaker stopped me in my tracks adding "when it could have been so much easier for you to just give up." Huh? Easier?! WTF? Apparently the message the Universe intends me to send is still not getting through, so I still have some tweaking to do to get it out there.

--Monday night, I went to a volunteer usher appreciation party with a carnival theme. Part of the entertainment was two fortune tellers. The woman who read my fortune actually does intuitive readings as a sideline. She had me focus on a question I had for the reading. Then she had me choose three cards (face down) from the Path to the Soul destiny card deck. My layout included: 1) Fertility, 2) Bull Guide and 3) Path to the Soul. As she told me the meanings of each of the cards: 1) creative abundance, 2)strength & protection/standing my ground, 3) my true north/life destiny, my answer became clearer to me. This year's travels should be directed to connecting with my life mission rather than simply to cross another city off my bucket list.

After reading some of the other entries in the contest, I understand that they too may benefit from the message the Universe intends me to share. So whether or not I get the invite to Taos, I will share the message here, as my gift to you and your readers.

The message is RAIN. It is a mnemonic representing Resilience, Attitude, Intuition & Networking. That has been my formula for successfully living a full, rich and vibrant life ever since surviving a crippling hemorrhagic stroke nearly 16 years ago.

While the axiom, "into each life some rain must fall" may be used by some to describe suffering adversity, to me the experience felt more like a drought. All the juiciness and savor of life was sucked out--friends evaporated, relationships withered, job and life skills dried up. It was through the blessings of RAIN that I restored the sweetness and color back into my life.

Now the Universe is calling me to share that message, not only with my fellow stroke survivors, but with all who have endured adversity and are looking for healing. If there is a spark of spirit left, the easy way is not "giving up" but instead finding small ways to nurture that spark, to give it air, to bring it back to life.

Crafting that message and the various methods for delivering it are what I intend to do with this year's travels. So often, the demands of my rich, full, vibrant life get in the way of time to process and record my thoughts. One overnight retreat on an island is not going to get it, but a week in Taos in the company of other strong women might bring it a major step further.

http://www.yucatandreams.shutterfly.com/

Memories from my bucket list 50th birthday weekend in Cancun--April 2008.

Includes instructions on how to parlay Yucatan Dreams into Tahitian Dreams. Check it out.

One Step Forward...

Ten steps back. Most of last year flowed amazingly well. Between the Friday night writing dates and the biweely alphabet adventures, I carved out large blocks of time in which to pursue my passions. Then came the fall--in every sense of the word. Fall, the season brought the fall, a physical incident, resulting in the metaphorical "fall" from grace. At least it felt that way in my world.

Instead of a Grimm's Fairy Tale, my life played out like a Grim, Scary Tale. My traditional weapon for fighting adversity--humor--kept failing me. The worst part was when my urologist recommended I go on a low-oxalate diet to try to retard the growth of more kidney stones. After reading the handouts with the proscribed foods, I came to a horrifying realization. Nearly anything I chose to eat vould violate some dietary recommendation for one of my health conditions! What is good for my kidneys is bad for my triglycerides. What is good for my colon is fatal for my kidneys and on it goes.

Hopefully, the worst of tidings has passed. In this new year 2010, my intention is to recover a sense of Radiance--radiant life, radiant health, radiant spirit. I will try a few old formulas and practices that worked well for me in the past. To those I will add experiments with a few new tools and tricks that look promising.

I will be wrapping up the alphabet adventures this weekend with a retracing of the old Zane's Trace route from Wheeling, WV to Maysville, KY. In 2010, I will begin a series of monthly literary adventures to discover the authors, libraries, bookstores and works that figure highly in Ohio's literary heritage. As part of each trip, I hope to include a writing date component to compensate for the missed weeks last year following my injuries.

At least this year I posted here within the first fortnight. That is an improvement.

After a Long, LONG Winter's Nap

The Strokesmodel remembers she has a blog out there somewhere in cyberspace. Not that the past 30 months have been uninspired--quite the contrary. I refuse to fall back on my stock-in-trade excuse that I have been too busy living my life than to write about it. That is a cop-out.

Several recent developments have drawn me back to this blog with the intention of making a fresh start. First and foremost was a breakout session on Demystifying Social Media at last weekend's District 40 Toastmasters Conference. Angie Palmer, fellow Toastmaster and owner of Skye Public Relations, presented the breakout.

Here is a link to Angie's Top 10 list of Reasons to Use Social Media.

Another was the reunion with an old college friend I hadn't seen in 20 years. Krit's position as headmaster of a boy's boarding school in Bangkok brought him back to my vicinity. One of the schools he visited posted photos from that visit on its blog.

During our get-together, Krit asked me if I blogged. How embarrassing for me, a writer by avocation, to tell him I hadn't posted in it in over two years! This is an effort to metaphorically hit the Reset button.

Finally, because I resolved at the beginning of this year that my primary goal was to become re-enchanted with writing. An initial step in this process was scheduling Friday night "writing dates" at the local Barnes & Noble. Another is participating in writing group meetings.

Later this spring I will attend the IWWG annual conference "Remember the Magic" in Saratoga Springs, NY. On my visit to Chautauqua Institution in August, I will audit both writing workshops. I am stoked about both events!

Off to bed to dream about summer writing retreats and road trips!

Tubthumping in a Tutbonnet

This month has been a total roller coaster ride of highs and lows, with nary a safety bar or lap belt to hold me in the car.

October began on a wobbly note. Still recuperating from a lithotripsy procedure, my immune system was susceptible to invasion. An near intractable head cold settled in for the duration. Even now there are lingeringing traces of the confestion in my throat, chest and ears.

Still I didn't let that stop me long. I took the chorus of Chumbawamba's Tubthumping" as my anthem for the month.

"I get knocked down, but I get up again/You're never going to keep me down."

The high points of the month generally came on the weekends. No surprise there. The weekdays are so cluttered up by the day gig that it is hard to hold onto the small joys that may come. I live for my weekends!

The first weekend was a doozy--the Over The Regal Limit trip to Chicago. Over 700 photos to tell the tale, so I won't go into detail here.

The second weekend was filled with the spirit of sisterhood. A lecture by Jungian analyst Jean Shinoda Bolen set the tone for the weekend. Her themes echoed in the words and deeds of the women in the IWWG personal essay workshop on Saturday. On Sunday, my sister and I had lunch with my best friend from high school.

The third weekend was another peak time of the month. I attended the Shadowbox Fall Fireball and ended up winning both raffle drawings I entered!

Coming Up For Air...

I've just spent another six weeks under waves of over-commitment, overload and medical drama. This weekend, however, there have been small spells of calm seas. Times I could surface for small breaths of air before being sucked under yet again.

Two of the past three days, I have worked the United Pentecostal Church International events at Nationwide Arena. However, my work station was in a spot far removed from all the fire, brimstone, blood and holy thunder. I was posted at the bottom of elevators three and four, leading to the event floor. Except when the flocks were entering and departing the Arena, it was still as tombs in there. I was able to catch up on all my dream journaling undisturbed. I celebrated by having lunch at Benevolence, then buying a 9-count boxof truffles from Pure Imagination Chocolatier.

The odd night out from the Arena, I spent at the CCAD Faculty Exhibition opening. The hors d'oeuvres were a disappointment, except for the chocolate-glazed popcorn. The art was kind of hit or miss. There were a few that amused me (the blond quilt) , a few that confused me (the "00" and "02" abstract sculptures), a few that amazed me (the 20' japanese scroll, the medusa).

Overlapping all categories was the complete set of US Presidential portraits crafted from human hair and packing tape. I can just here Sergio now, "Son puras sillas!"

Off now to dress Hawaiian for Molly's 40th birthday Tiki Party.

Timex Women...

We take a licking and keep on ticking. The Timex women in my life have served me notice that they are still around today.

First there was Gypsy, my tortoiseshell cat, demanding that I run fresh water in my vanity sink for her refreshment. Gypsy came into our family in October 2004 as a rescued stray we adopted. She was pretty beat up, starving and scarred when we first met her. But through our love and care, Gypsy has blossomed into the healthy, contented and spoiled queen of the castle she is today.

Then there was MsAdventure, my 2003 Hyundai Elantra. Her demands were a bit more comlicated and a lot more expensive. She began our morning by insisting on a new a new pair of brake pads. The previous pair had been worn down to 0%. While she was in the shop, I ordered her 90,000-mile service as well. Incredibly, MsAdventure's worn out pads were her original brake pads! They endured through over 87,500 miles of travel in just over 3 years. Now that is staying power!

I count myself blessed to be in such company.